TV Middle East and Africa MIPCOM 2012 by World Screen

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Pay-TV Platforms Keshet Media’s Avi Nir South African Formats www.tvmea.ws

MIPCOM EDITION

THE MAGAZINE OF MIDDLE EASTERN & AFRICAN TV

OCTOBER 2012

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FremantleMedia Enterprises

IN THIS ISSUE After the Sandstorm A look at the satellitebroadcasting business in the Middle East 6

www.fmescreenings.com • Bellator • Half the Sky • Battleground

Battleground

Business across the Middle East and Africa has been booming for FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), according to Jamie Lynn, the company’s senior VP of distribution for Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “From growing pay platforms to the biggest free terrestrials to emerging digital opportunities, we are finding success in all areas with our rich mix of compelling content,” he says. FME has several new titles to offer buyers in the Middle East and Africa, including the mixed-martial-arts franchise Bellator, which Lynn says is “different from any other MMA promotion,” with its “real sports-tournament format.” Another title being highlighted is Half the Sky, based on the book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, which features celebrity activists visiting victims of oppression. Battleground is a documentary-style comedy-drama about a political campaign.

Interview Keshet Media’s Avi Nir

South Africa To Go MNet is offering up a slate of formats 14

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher

Anna Carugati

“We have continued to see steady growth with a range of broadcasters across the region.

”

—Jamie Lynn

Editor

Mansha Daswani

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

Managing Editor Joanna Padovano

Associate Editor Simon Weaver

Online Director Meredith Miller Chris Carline

Production Directors Phyllis Q. Busell

Art Director

Televisa Internacional

Cesar Suero

Sales & Marketing Director

www.televisainternacional.tv

Vanessa Brand

• Crown of Tears • Hollywood Heights • Carrossel

Carrossel

Sales & Marketing Manager Terry Acunzo

Business Affairs Manager

Africa has always been very receptive when it comes to Televisa Internacional’s content, according to Ricardo Ehrsam, the company’s general director for Europe and Asia. “It satisfies the needs of what English-speaking and French-speaking countries in Africa are looking for,” he says. “We continue believing that Africa is a region that will have important growth, and part of Televisa’s growth will be focused on more aggressive sales in the region,” notes Ehrsam, mentioning that the same goes for the Middle East. “In both cases, the cultural aspect will remain a challenge, but we think Televisa’s...telenovelas will continue expanding in these regions.”At this year’s MIPCOM,Televisa is showcasing Crown of Tears (Corona de lágrimas), a telenovela, and Hollywood Heights, a family drama that revolves around an aspiring singer who falls in love with a rock star. The company is also presenting Carrossel.

Ricardo Seguin Guise

President

Anna Carugati

Executive VP & Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani

Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

“There isn’t one channel in

different African countries that is not demanding Televisa’s product, the novela. —Ricardo Ehrsam

”

www.tvmea.ws

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Footsteps of Thesiger on Abu Dhabi Al Emarat.

After the

sandstorm The satellite-broadcasting business in the Middle East is coming to grips with channel jamming, fierce rivalries and increased competition. By Chris Forrester

y any measure, broadcasting in the Middle East is a boom ing business. However, the region is severely affected by channel jamming, religious and factional rivalry, and viewers who are perhaps the most news-thirsty of any on the planet. Of late, there have been serious squabbles between channel owners, licensing authorities at each other’s throats— some even banning satellite dishes—and a never-ending chase for advertising dollars to keep the free-to-air channels’ operational heads above water. One inter-satellite dispute has placed at risk a new $300-million satellite. Such is life in the never quiet Middle East. CHANNEL HOPPING

The mere number of channels added over recent months are in themselves impressive. According to the Ammanbased Arab Advisors Group (AAG), the number of free-toair (FTA) channels in the Arab world grew by 19.3 percent between April 2011 and March 2012. Moreover, this growth was almost entirely focused on privately funded channels, helped by a more liberal environment over the past year in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. 506

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The number of FTA satellite channels grew by a massive 542 percent between January 2004 and March 2012. AAG says the total number of distinct FTA satellite channels is now 642. There’s very little authoritative published research on revenues, as almost every channel is privately funded. AAG, using published rate-card data, says that prime-time ad rates for the small handful of top FTA general-entertainment channels reached a record average of $3,299 for a 30-second spot. Unlike just about everywhere in the Western world, the very highest rates were for news and current-affairs channels, which reached $5,460 for a 30-second prime-time spot. “Of the 38 analyzed FTA satellite TV channels, MBC Group’s Arabic-language general channel, MBC1, has the highest average advertising rate,” said Arab Advisors. However, it has to be stressed that even these low rates are rarely the true amounts received by broadcasters, as all manner of “net, net” discounts apply. The Middle East, with few exceptions, is a region dominated by satellite delivery with the greatest concentration of dishes anywhere in the world. However, some countries are tough10/12

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ening up their attitude to satellite. For example, Sharjah emirate, which sits alongside Dubai on the Persian Gulf, in June banned satellite dishes that are fixed to balconies and terraces. Sultan Al Mualla, the director-general of the Sharjah Municipality, said residents can instead subscribe to cable or telcosupplied TV services, and he issued a 48-hour deadline for apartment-dwellers. Those who fail to remove their dishes face a fine. DOING THE DISHES

A few days later, Abu Dhabi did much the same, with the city council calling on landlords and occupiers to limit and tidy up satellite dishes on the capital city’s rooftops, balconies and terraces. In a statement released on July 8, Abu Dhabi Municipality said that satellite dishes and their related cable connections have been “mushrooming in a haphazard manner” on both private and commercial building exteriors, creating a disheveled look and threatening the community’s health and safety. Bans on dishes and local rules and regulations are but one problem. Deliberate satellite jamming of signals is another, more significant problem. Salah Hamza, the chief technology officer of Nilesat, which is based in Cairo, says that the jamming of satellite signals, especially prevalent in the Middle East, is hurting the industry very badly. “We now even have what we call voluntary self-jamming, where in order to curb unwanted signals coming into a country it seems that a nation is prepared to also lose its own signals by jamming a complete [satellite] transponder. “For the past few months we have multiple examples of deliberate jamming,” Hamza continues. “This has spread to five transponders, affecting many of our clients. It is deliberate, and seems to us to be quite senseless. In some instances the jamming occurs on a daily basis starting promptly at 7:30 a.m. and finishing at 1 a.m. the following day. It is as if someone is just coming into an office and switching on the jamming mechanism as a matter of routine.” Hamza explains that as the Arab Spring revolutions and local protests happened, the jamming intensified. “The recent events in Libya have added to the problems, but jamming now occurs from Bahrain, Syria and, of course, Iran,” he says.“We have progovernment jammers as well as opposition jammers. Recently we had jamming from a very sophisticated source. These people seem determined to act as satellite operators, judging what will—and will not—be carried by an operator. Indeed, this case was quite ridiculous because even after we had removed all of the channels from a transponder, which is a huge headache for us and our customers, the jamming continued onto an empty transponder! These are huge problems, and there’s no real sign of the problem going away.” In July such complaints came to a head when Arabsat was publicly accused by France of supporting jamming, after Eutelsat’s transponders were disrupted. France’s National Frequency Agency said the jamming had been in effect since July 14, causing the agency to make a formal complaint to the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva, and to the government of Saudi Arabia, where Arabsat is headquartered. One new satellite operator is beginning to carve out a very useful niche, supplying capacity as the region’s only all-HDTV player.YahLive, a new HDTV satellite platform targeting the Middle East, has signed an important deal with Abu Dhabi Media (ADM) to transmit many of its channels.YahLive says it 10/12

7TV

currently carries about 30 HD channels, with plans to boost that to close to 50 by the end of the year. “The addition of exclusive Abu Dhabi Media channels means that our customers will be able to view some of the biggest sporting events and leading entertainment all in highest-quality HD,” said Mohamed Youssif, the CEO of YahLive. Adding the ADM channels was a natural step, given that the broadcaster is a sister company of Mubadala, which is financially backing YahLive and YahSat. The HD channels covered by the HDTV agreement include Abu Dhabi Drama, Abu Dhabi Al Emarat, Abu Dhabi Sports 1 and 2, and Nat Geo Abu Dhabi. Ayman Safadi, the CEO of ADM, says, “The uptake of HD seems very strong. We’ll be looking at whether to extend that offering to some of our other channels, particularly our sports channels.” BIRD WATCHING

YahSat’s sales arm is being helped by the Luxembourg-based satellite giant SES, and it is also active with another powerful “bird” in the shape of SES-5, launched on July 10, which also targets the Middle East and Africa. Also looking for more business in the Middle East is SES Platform Services (SPS), based in Munich.The satellite-services company is hoping to capture new business similar to that being successfully supplied from Munich to Johannesburg’s TopTV DTH pay-TV operation. “In Europe we have an excellent position because of our broadcast neighborhoods,” says Wilfried Urner, the CEO of SPS.“In the Middle East or Asia or Latin America or Africa, we are just one among many. If you cannot offer more to poten-

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Local color: The payTV platform OSN has been upping its investments in original content in a bid to enlarge its subscriber base, rolling out Hindustani on its Yahala! HD channel.

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Anchor desk: Sky News Arabia, a fiftyfifty joint venture by BSkyB and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation, reaches more than 50 million homes as a free-to-air channel across the Middle East and North Africa.

tial clients, and we can talk about what ‘more’ is, then we might not win the business. ‘More’ might include any number of incentives, or capacity agreements, or service bundles. This might include ensuring that the client gets to market a little sooner, or [helping] with their business models, or [aiding] them with their technology development. But what we have to avoid is stepping into their businesses. They are the broadcasters, not us.” The Middle East and North African (MENA) region remains primarily a DTH satellite-television market, and mostly free to air. Pay-TV penetration is low, at around 8 percent of DTH viewers, according to the Arab Media Outlook report. GAME ON

As in other regions of the world, sports is a big draw in the Middle East, and a number of services are vying for viewers’ attention. With 16 channels of sports and sports news, Al Jazeera Sports controls the majority of international and regional sports rights (including UEFA Champions League and the Italian, French and Spanish soccer leagues), and has the largest pay-TV subscriber base in the region. However, its active base cannot easily be measured accurately because it is a smart-card-only network—subscribers pay upfront for annual subscriptions and smart cards are sold pre-enabled—and DTH ARPU is very low (about $80 a year). Many subscribers will simply buy a new card every year, distorting the active base figures. Arab Media Outlook estimated 1.4 million subscribers in 2011, so a reasonable current estimate might be 1.5 million active cards, or approximately 3 percent to 5 percent of MENA TV households. Local estimates suggest gross DTH revenue of perhaps $150 million. However, a significant proportion of this gross revenue goes to distributors (who purchase smart cards from Al Jazeera in bulk and sell them on to dealers). The annual programming rights outlay for Al Jazeera Sports comfortably exceeds $200 million, as it controls the rights to almost all international and regional soccer leagues. After considering staff, production and operational costs, the Al Jazeera Sports DTH network is therefore running at a significant annual loss. As a network, its primary aims appear to 508

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be achieving maximum audience penetration and controlling access to premium sports on TV in the MENA region. Al Jazeera Sports’ card-only “maximum penetration” strategy means it is not a platform as such. The majority of its channels are carried in standard definition in order to make them accessible to as many open-market Irdeto and Viacess (encrypted) set-top boxes as possible. IN IT TO WIN IT

The Abu Dhabi TV Network, launched in the summer of 2010, is best known for its carriage of premium sports in HD, in particular the English Premier League, Formula 1 and Wimbledon. It also carries other genres of HD channels (19 in total), such as the MBC HD channels, National Geographic and Sky News Arabia. AD TV Network controls its platform, as its channels are only available on proprietary Humax set-top boxes embedded with Irdeto’s latest encryption system. About half of the AD Sports package price in year one (more than $200) is the cost of the set-top box. The Arab Media Outlook report suggests that the 2011 subscriber base of ADM is 670,000, although this figure is not directly referenced (and seems high to many). This would suggest annual gross subscription revenue (excluding the cost of set-top box) of $50 million to $70 million. In the two years since its launch, AD TV Network has marketed itself as the home of English soccer (EPL), but now appears to be moving toward a broader marketing strategy highlighting the range of its HD content. ADM reportedly pays more than $100 million per year for EPL rights alone. Its current three-year license agreement will end in the summer of 2013, and the English Football Association was due to award the new three-year license in September 2012. A bidding war was anticipated between Al Jazeera Sports and ADM. Al Jazeera is expected to try to consolidate control over premium international soccer in the region, even if the move costs a great deal and does not generate significant incremental revenues. After two years of business built on EPL, it is questionable whether AD TV Network would continue to exist if it lost the rights to English soccer. Competition could therefore be fierce. 10/12

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to assume that subscriber revenues exceed $200 million per annum, and OSN may well now be EBITDA positive. Perhaps more important, its consolidation of its platform and content licensing positions has given OSN a degree of protection in an industry plagued with irrational commercial behavior (such as bidding wars for sports rights) that constantly undermines the underlying MENA market potential. OSN always maintains that its main competitor is piracy. The MBC Group of channels, although free to air, is also a rival. MBC’s Englishlanguage channels contain premium Hollywood output. MBC, like OSN, has also developed an OTT platform (Shahid.net), and through its massive DTH audience reach has created a potential platform for future growth. NICHE PLAYERS

Slice of the pie: El Bab x El Bab, the Middle Eastern version of Sony Pictures Television’s Everybody Loves Raymond, airs on pay TV across the region.

The preoccupation with EPL rights means that the value of the AD TV Network platform itself is often overlooked. An HD subscriber base of, say, 300,000 to 400,000 using secured IP-enabled boxes, all acquired within two years, is an exceptional achievement in the fragmented and chaotic MENA TV market. It took the pay-TV platform OSN almost 20 years and a merger to achieve this. TWO BECOME ONE

Following the initial disruption of the merger between Showtime and Orbit in 2009, which formed OSN, the platform has now consolidated its headquarters in Dubai, rationalized its management and staff, and established a consistent and secure platform using NDS encryption. OSN has kept clear of the price war for premium sports rights. Its priorities have included leveraging what is now effectively a MENA monopoly on encrypted Western entertainment from the Hollywood studios and other independent distributors. It also set out to secure its platform against card piracy and wire piracy (through deals with local cable operators); to develop an over-the-top version of its platform (OSN Play) to future-proof its content-rights deals and prepare for challenges from the likes of Amazon, Netflix and Google; and to develop some original Arabic-language content. The result is a platform that continues to deliver high ARPU (probably $50-plus per month across DTH and IPTV subscribers) and a stable subscriber base.The claim of 600,000 subscribers in 2011, as quoted in Arab Media Outlook, seems high to many and probably refers to viewing points (which includes hotel rooms and the like). It is reasonable, however, 510

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There are a number of smaller services in the market that recognize the price sensitivity of the MENA consumer and the need to have a low-cost compelling basic offering in order to achieve significant market penetration for a new platform. They also recognize the commercial potential for new low-cost pay-TV bouquets, once a platform has gained a strong foothold in the market. For example, the Al Majd TV Network provides Arabsat viewers with religious programming and culturally appropriate entertainment, partially FTA and partially in a pay-TV package. Its primary audience is Saudi Arabia, where it has successfully established a high ARPU package and (according to Arab Media Outlook) has in excess of 500,000 subscribers. It does not compete with any of the other MENA pay-TV networks, and as yet has not seen any players replicate its model. As a result it is probably the most profitable pay-TV network in the region! The ICHD platform was established in 2011 and carries the MBC HD channels. Its mission was to sell a pay-TV box, which offers premium encrypted HD content at a near FTA price, and use rapid growth as the basis to establish a pay-TV platform. The network encountered pricing, technical and distribution issues during its first year of operation, and has not yet achieved a significant market presence. My-HD was established in 2012, and also offers premium encrypted MBC HD content on a high-definition box at a near FTA price. It anticipates further premium content to follow, and aims to establish an independent platform. There is also a growing number of IPTV-based players, either using fiber or DSL/cable lines. The UAE’s Du is the largest of these, with more than 100,000 subs, helped by having distribution rights with almost all the major pay-TV operators. Also in the UAE is e-vision, with a similar subscriber base to Du. Qatar’s Qtel is transitioning to fiber, and Saudi Arabia’s STC says it is aiming to fiber-connect 2 million homes by the end of 2013. Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Palestine’s Paltel also have, or are developing, IP-based consumer TV offerings. 10/12

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By Mansha Daswani

As the cast and creators of Showtime’s Homeland received the statuette for best drama at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, there were two people on stage who might not have been instantly recognizable to those watching the ceremony: Gideon Raff, the creator of Hatufim (Prisoners of War), the show on which Homeland is based, and Avi Nir, the CEO of the Israeli broadcaster that commissioned that series. With a mix of scripted offerings like Hatufim, locally developed reality like Shalosh and Israeli versions of hit formats such as MasterChef, Keshet Broadcasting has become the ratings leader in this small, competitive market. Nir speaks to TV Middle East & Africa about Israeli creativity, the importance of second-screen applications and Keshet’s increasing international business.

Keshet Media’s

Avi Nir

characterize ourselves as edgy mainstream. We always look for something that will create an emotional response—negative or positive, but not passive, and not mundane. TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: Why do you think Israel

has become such a hotbed of creativity? NIR: The start-up culture of Israel is part of the company

DNA. This constant state of looking and not finding—I can speak for Keshet, and maybe this is right for Israel—is a part of that start-up culture. I think we share a strong urge to express ourselves and a constant state of neurotic dissatisfaction. It’s a good state [to be in] in order to create. TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: How important was Prisoners of

War in elevating the profile of Israeli content on the global stage? NIR: Very important. On the one hand it was as Israeli a theme as you could think of. But on the other hand, the adaptation done by the American creators with our Gideon Raff was so compelling, so strong, so American. [It showed that] local creativity, local themes and pains, can be transformed to various nations and cultures.

TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: What have been the keys to

Keshet’s continued ratings success? NIR: We are a bunch of people who love making television. It

sounds trivial, but we are coming from this motivation to do really great stuff that we’re proud of. In our internal meetings, there’s always the question of ratings, of course. But there’s always the question of, are we satisfied? Keshet’s creative management watch each and every show a few times—in the editing suite, in the final cut and on air. So the first answer is how driven and passionate we are.The second might be that we are quite unique in the way we work.We are all in one building—creative people, interactive people, marketing people—right in the middle of the high-tech, start-up section of Tel Aviv.This is the second part of the recipe.The third is that we are an organization that wants to take risks.We are seeking high ratings, but we won’t enjoy these ratings if they don’t come from a really creative endeavor. We

TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: So many of your properties have been formatted in the U.S. How were you able to crack this challenging market? NIR: It started by getting to know Rick Rosen from what was then Endeavor and now WME. Rick learned of Keshet from getting to know our head of drama at the time, Hagai Levi, who did Be’Tipul [which would become HBO’s] In Treatment. Then I started coming to the U.S. more frequently and just showed our product. It spoke for itself ! Each year we produce four or five new drama or comedy franchises and three or four new unscripted shows. [We’re] very prolific. We’ve come to understand the way the U.S. market operates and what’s expected from someone who is coming from abroad, how to cooperate with the studios. TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: What’s been your approach

to nonlinear services and second-screen functionality? NIR: Three years ago, we had this credo for the organiza-

tion, saying, the Internet, namely social networks, are great friends of TV. It wasn’t the mood at the time. [The Internet] was supposedly the biggest threat to TV. But we had said that it is the best thing that can happen to broadcast television, which mostly relies on real-time viewing. After a show is conceived, almost simultaneously our interactive people get into the picture. [The second screen] will always provide some added value for watching the show. TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: What are the main growth opportunities for the company heading into 2013? NIR: We are looking at the last five years as a pilot [phase]. We’ve been assessing the world market. We look at the next five years as a change of gear. After getting to understand the language and the mathematics of the international market, now it’s time for us to be a player in the international market. We’re looking for the international entity to be a substantial part of Keshet. Some of our resources will go towards that purpose. We are also having discussions with various international parties who are interested in aligning with us and creating some kind of joint venture. 512

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P R O F I L E

South Africa To Go By Kristin Brzonowski

The South African pay-TV service MNet has brought its audience local adaptations of such world-renowned formats as Big Brother and Idols. After a long tradition of importing international concepts, MNet has now made moves to export its own ideas globally, entering the format-sales arena. “Sales and demand of both MNet and African content has increased exponentially in the last year,” says Mandy Roger, the company’s head of sales, acquisitions and business development. “International channels are realizing that there is huge value in broadcasting niche or ethnic content. To this

A third MNet format focused on love is Pants on Fire, a shinyfloor studio dating show. In it, three guys answer 100 personal, and somewhat embarrassing, questions on camera. In a blinddate-style setup, a girl asks the guys a series of questions. The guys must choose whether to lie or stick to their honest answers. At the very end, she guesses how many answers he answered truthfully. The closer she guesses to his actual truth tally, the more glamorous of a date they win. “These are all brand-new formats that have been created in response to a lot of research on what is popular and where there is a gap in the market,” says Roger. “We felt that existing [dating] formats needed a bit of a fresh spin in a creative new way.” Far outside the dating genre, Way of the Warrior involves a group of couch potatoes who try to master Muay Thai martial arts.There is also Piano Piano, which features piano-playing duels. The pianists are also joined by celebrity guests. UNIVERSAL APPEAL

Hitting a high note: Among the formats on MNet’s initial slate is Duet Date, in which singles perform karaoke.

end, the step to formats was a natural progression for us considering the sales successes of the past.” Roger says that there were a number of shows already running on MNet channels that had great format potential,“so it was a case of reformatting two titles as well as creating four new ones in the beginning.” These formats “incorporate a little bit of our culture and diversity,” says Roger. Even with the South African flavor, the concepts are easy to translate, Roger notes, “as most countries out there are becoming so diversified and the formats appeal to and embrace that change.” Among the formats in the MNet catalogue is Duet Date, a dating and entertainment title in which singles perform karaoke.This is one of several titles that MNet has in the dating and marriage genre.There’s also I Still Do.“Married couples who have lost their spark are made over inside and out,” Roger explains.“The emotional makeover is done with input from their families, a poppsych counselor and [by] reminiscing about their romantic past. The physical makeover is done by professional stylists. In front of their families and friends they are surprised with a ceremony to renew their vows.There is a double reveal as they see their new glam spouse and have a chance to remember that ‘they still do.’” 514

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“We have stuck to shows and ideas that are easy to reproduce, lighthearted and uplifting and easily transferable internationally as they aren’t successful as a result of the culture, language, religion and sense of humor in specific territories,” says Roger. In building its initial format slate, MNet first embarked on a fact-finding mission, to get a better of sense of what the needs are in various markets. “Once we get a bit more experience and get to know the market better we will expand the catalogue with more specifically created formats,” Roger explains. Europe, the Middle East and Asia are MNet’s primary targets at the moment, according to Roger.“The U.K. and U.S. are difficult markets to crack and we feel we would be better placed to target these markets once we have a proven track record of success to speak about. European markets, in particular, seem to be looking for new, different formats, too, and are open to new ideas from new [suppliers].” The slate has titles that will work for both prime time and daytime slots, and are mostly low budget and cost effective; a key advantage given the current economic climate. The catalogue features “uplifting shows,” Roger notes, that are generally studio-based and get the audience involved. Brand-new titles for MIPCOM include Comedy Character, which features sketch comedy, and Pop Part, a talent competition that casts for specific personality types in pop groups, such as “the sexy one,” “the shy one” and “the street-wise one.” MNet also has To Be Continued.The format, which encompasses two weekly hour-long installments and 26 30-minute episodes, features a competition in which people compete to win their own reality show. A panel of TV experts teaches the viewer to think like a TV producer, as the at-home audience will ultimately decide who will land their own reality series in the end. 10/12

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